Stands with a fist or the "Little People" have had enough
You don't have to take it folks. You don't have to stand by and watch bad things done in your communities. I just left a group of people who are a living testament to that fact.
A few of you may recall my previous blog To Live in an Industrial Wasteland (link) which was about, in part, the fact that the company, Republic, that managaes our (Person Co.'s) landfill wishes to nearly triple the daily tonnage going into said landfill. Over 1400 county residents live within 2 miles of the landfill and their lives are already negatively impacted by the 650 tons that get deposited daily.
We thought the issue had died a timely death a year or two ago when public outcry led by a newly formed grassroots organization appeared to influence the county commissioners enough to get them to vote against the expansion proposal. But one of them changed his mind over the summer of 2007 and so recently our commissioners voted to proceed with the process of granting Republic a special use permit that would be their first concrete step in getting all their necessary permits for the planned expansion.
Before the special use permit gets voted on the commissioners have to hold a public hearing. Tonight that grassroots organization invited a lawyer who specializes in this sort of concern to attend a special meeting. At tonight's meeting he was hired to represent the organization and he discussed the legalities and details pertaining to the special use permit. As a result, at the public hearing the 17th of this month our county commissioners are going to be in for a surprise, for instead of a few locals voicing concerns that they have heard over and over they will encounter 12-15 residents speaking directly to the specific concerns of the relevant ordinances and a lawyer ready to cross-examine witnesses testifying for Republic.
I am very proud to be associated with that group of "little people" who are standing up and taking on the corporate interests and the political sellouts who together ruin lives with their shortsighted greed.
Not on our watch!!!
Thanks for reading.
Front-paged by Anglico
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Tonight my avatar became a reality.
I have been involved with grassroots organizing for 4 years now and this was the most direct application I have seen of a group of regular people banding together to take decisive action to stop a larger entity from negatively impacting their lives.
Please send us some good vibes folks, especially the evening of monday, Sept. 17th.
Thank you.
Person County Democrats
Great job . . . and great report.
Thanks. I can use some inspiration right now.
Thank you A (front page, yippee!!) I cannot take
any real credit for this as other people did the work. I merely attended and lent mostly moral support.
I am very much rooting for this effort to succeed, moreso than before tonight. That's saying something as I hate the idea of my home county becoming Love Canal Lite (a third fewer birth defects that the regular Love Canal).
Person County Democrats
My pleasure.
Love Canal Lite. Very funny . . . and scary . . . all at the same time.
This really is inspiring, PersonDem.
I can't want to hear the report.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Glad this is on the front page
I think if more people knew just what kind of impact they could have they would get involved. So many people think their voices don't matter. Stories like this need to get out.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.